Yes its my photo of the Kirkstall Abbey tunnel that has been doing the rounds!!!

As Rik says his mate couldnt get very far up the tunnel featured in my pic as it comes to a dead end - allegedly! But you would need to be a stick insect to get into the doorway as its almost buried shut.

I have heard various tales of tunnels leading from both the cellar of and the garden of Newlay Manor to Kirkstall Abbey, I've also heard of a tunnel leading from Dean Grange Farm of all places to Kirkstall Abbey which seems very unlikely as thats around 3 miles as the crow flies over land with much ascent and descent.

Its probably that there are a combination of tunnels and drainage culverts combined with local myths / chinese whispers etc that has led to a complete hotchpotch of rumours. However its always intriguing to think there might be secret tunnels, buried gold, ghostly monks etc! I'm still for the Kirkstall Abbey tunnel regardless!

those guys were there for hundreds of years,and walked 8 miles a day...barefoot over what was moorland to mine iron ore at seacroft and monkswood,so a few little tunnels?......childs play for those guys.it was those fellas that went to the crusades and also those fellas that gave us the turks heads at whitelocks....hard men in hard times,i reckon they could do pretty much what they set their minds to...

Cistercian monks did not go to the Crusades to fight Wiggy,they were a peaceful order.The Orders of Monks that fought in Palestine were The Knigts Templar and the Knights of the Order of St John.

The real quetion is why they would need to build such a tunnel,to which the answer is that there wasnt,so why would they invest in such a venture when they liked to put all there efforts into land/woodland management,wool,iron/lead working.

These were the main sources of maintenance and income for this abbey,as was also the case with its sister Cisctercian Abbeys at Rievaulx,Fountains,and Jervaulx to name but a few.

My mum always told me about a tunnel from Quarry hill to Kirkstall,but unfortunately it seems that its just a legend as no trace of any such tunnel has been found,despite the extensive amount of redevelopment that has taken place in the last two centuries.

Shame

would that be in the same way as british soldiers never fought in vietnam??......'ahem!'

i do believe,induced by potent circumstances,that thou art' mine enemy?

Yes its my photo of the Kirkstall Abbey tunnel that has been doing the rounds!!!

As Rik says his mate couldnt get very far up the tunnel featured in my pic as it comes to a dead end - allegedly! But you would need to be a stick insect to get into the doorway as its almost buried shut.

I have heard various tales of tunnels leading from both the cellar of and the garden of Newlay Manor to Kirkstall Abbey, I've also heard of a tunnel leading from Dean Grange Farm of all places to Kirkstall Abbey which seems very unlikely as thats around 3 miles as the crow flies over land with much ascent and descent.

Its probably that there are a combination of tunnels and drainage culverts combined with local myths / chinese whispers etc that has led to a complete hotchpotch of rumours. However its always intriguing to think there might be secret tunnels, buried gold, ghostly monks etc! I'm still for the Kirkstall Abbey tunnel regardless!

those guys were there for hundreds of years,and walked 8 miles a day...barefoot over what was moorland to mine iron ore at seacroft and monkswood,so a few little tunnels?......childs play for those guys.it was those fellas that went to the crusades and also those fellas that gave us the turks heads at whitelocks....hard men in hard times,i reckon they could do pretty much what they set their minds to...

Cistercian monks did not go to the Crusades to fight Wiggy,they were a peaceful order.The Orders of Monks that fought in Palestine were The Knigts Templar and the Knights of the Order of St John.

The real quetion is why they would need to build such a tunnel,to which the answer is that there wasnt,so why would they invest in such a venture when they liked to put all there efforts into land/woodland management,wool,iron/lead working.

These were the main sources of maintenance and income for this abbey,as was also the case with its sister Cisctercian Abbeys at Rievaulx,Fountains,and Jervaulx to name but a few.

My mum always told me about a tunnel from Quarry hill to Kirkstall,but unfortunately it seems that its just a legend as no trace of any such tunnel has been found,despite the extensive amount of redevelopment that has taken place in the last two centuries.

There is also a tale of a tunnel from The Grange at Beckett Park, to Kirkstall Abbey.

We were talking to the bloke who runs the group responsible for the allotments at Becketts Park the other weekend. He showed us some old stone gateposts there that were originally the entrance to a farm where the housing estate now lies. It was called *something* Grange. (Sorry, can't recall the name of the farm).

Apparently, the 'Grange' element in a place name for a farm is a likely indicator of connection to an Abbey (or a fanciful name popular in Victorian times, according to my archaeologist mate). The Allotment bloke told us he'd seen an old map that showed a 'dead straight track' from the farm to Kirkstall Abbey.

Anyway, finally getting around to my question (!), is this 'Grange' you mention the same site as the old farm?

Anyone ever thought they could just be exstensions to the sewer network they had in place? Some of which can be seen very clearly now. Who knows where else they decided to put drainage/sewers...

Could account for all the rumors..

And the main road through kirkstal to headingly used to go straight up Park mount over the rail way tracks and before the tracks were there, in the field on the eastern side of the tracks there are gate posts that led into the farm which is now bordering the allotments.

yo i was from horsforth now live in Bately but i was told as from growing up in horsforth the under tunnel was from a pub my dad and my grandad told me

I spoke to the landlord of that pub regarding this, he comfirmed it but said we couldnt have a look. That was last summer - aparantly its true I got speaking to some locals and although theres loads of bits caved in, the tunnel going from horsfroth to kirkstall is still there...

I tried in vain to find it but even if I had, I dont think many metres of it exist at once, theres cave in pretty periodically so Im told...

Also looking on Wikipedia- it confirms this story:"The 'Drain' shown on the diagram is a small underground tunnel which leads north alongside the river Aire, to a large manor house in the nearby village of Horsforth."

On 22 November 1539 Kirkstall abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII's commissioners in the Dissolution of the monasteries. In 1671 it passed into the hands of the Brudenell family, Earls of Cardigan. Much of the stone was removed for re-use in other buildings in the area.The Abbey Inn was an 18th century farmhouse and first recorded as a pub in 1826. That says the abbey was a ruin 200 years before the pub was even built. You would have to ask yourself why would the Monks build this tunnel if they hadn't been there for 300 years. Also the tunnel along the river is made out of red brick that looks to be dated WWI in my opinion.

A fool spends his entire life digging a hole for himself.A wise man knows when it's time to stop!